Surprise Yourself

Helping Londoners explore, create, and embrace the unexpected with Pinterest

​​

The Challenge

Londoners are craving new experiences and inspiration - but didn’t always know where to start. Pinterest wanted to help people reconnect with their creativity, discover new passions, and reframe London as a playground for trying something new.

​

The Insight

Pandemic life left many feeling stuck, longing for surprise and imagination. Time Out readers love discovering experiences that spark inspiration, and Pinterest is the perfect enabler - a platform that helps people find and act on ideas that excite and challenge them..

​

The Idea

We set out to make Londoners surprise themselves. For the first time, Pinterest and Time Out teamed up to turn curiosity into action, transforming inspiration into real-life experiences.

From discovering unusual hobbies to trying something completely new, we created a digital world bursting with ideas.

Pinterest was at the heart of it all as the spark behind every discovery. We even created a Time Out Surprise Yourself board to bring it all together and launched The Surprise Yourself Fund, giving three lucky Londoners £1,000 to make their new passions happen. It was all about curiosity, creativity, and that wonderful feeling of trying something completely unexpected - and reminding Londoners that sometimes the best discoveries are the ones you surprise yourself with.

My Role

• Developed the campaign strategy and creative concept from initial brief through to launch

• Crafted the narrative and pitched the idea to stakeholders

• Collaborated with street artist Penfold on the mural concept and execution

• Oversaw creative production and rollout across content, social, and experiential channels

• Ensured cohesive storytelling and consistency across all campaign touchpoints

​

Results

• High engagement with competition receiving 304 entries spanning a wide range of creative pursuits, from puppet making to ceramics and jewellery

• Strong interaction across digital, social, and editorial content

• The Pinterest platform was successfully integrated and positioned as the go-to enabler for discovery and creative inspiration

• Campaign drove meaningful participation and inspired Londoners to explore new hobbies